Gear Review: BMG Belstaff Adventure Jacket

At this year's Progressive International Motorcycle Show, I picked up a Belstaff Adventure Jacket from the Paul, the CEO for British Motorcycle Gear aka BMG.  I wasn't really shopping for a new jacket but I had seen this model before and was interested in it. But since I'm tough to fit, I was hesitant to order from overseas; so I was glad to see the BMG/Belstaff at the show.

The fit of the Adventure Jacket is definitely a different cut from most, more on the narrow side with long arms.  Which means, it was perfect for me! I still needed an XS to keep all the armor in place.  

The styling is adventure-esqe but not too over the top. 

Hard plastic nubbins help the jacket slide in case you have a get off. 

Reflective badges and piping for visibility.

I am a complete sucker for little details like this.   A cool rubberized Union Jack and contrasting stitching!

Stash pocket on the right forearm. 

ID or badge pocket on the left forearm.

Waterproof chest pocket. 

Unlike most forearm vents, these actually work! 

Nice big exhaust vents on the back. 

The collar has as soft neoprene style material that almost feels gel filled. I found it pretty comfortable however, it was a bit tight.  

Some sort of grippy material that helps keep the jacket from riding up. 

Standard zipper for zipping your trousers together with your jacket.

Rear pouch and kidney padding.

I found the Knox armor small and loose around my scrawny arms so I swapped in the armor from my BMW jacket.  With a little trimming, it fit perfectly! Some serious protection with the NP armor.

The zip off sleeves (still not sure what the benefit is) work as pit vents when you partially unzip them. The new version does not have this feature.

Bottom zipper for the hydration pouch. 

The super sexy thong strap helps keep the jacket in position when you ride standing up and also has the potential to attract new friends at truck stops and other questionable areas. 

Summary: 

I found the Belstaff Adventure Jacket to be a great spring, summer and early autumn jacket. It works well with a layer underneath for chilly mornings, then breathes well when the temps rise. The light weight material moves a fair amount of air but still gives you a sense of protection, unlike most mesh gear.  The arm vents really help, the shoulder vents on the other hand, not so much.  But that might be due to the NP armor blocking the air flow.

The cut is very easy to wear and doesn't feel restrictive or overly bulky.  I did get to test the crash protection, however it was while practicing slow speed u-turns.  The material held up well and the NP armor and memory foam backpad worked great.   I'm rough on my gear.  I throw it around, wad it up and birds poop on it.  The Adventure Jacket showed no signs of weakness, with minimal loose threads or spots of wear. There are plenty of great design details all over the place.  The rubberized Union Jack, contrasting stitching, zipper garages and useful pockets stuck everywhere.  (Except the cell phone pouch, a bit small these days.)

If you have happen to see their booth at a Motorcycle Show, check out the Adventure Jacket. It's a good, real world and realistic budget alternative to the high dollar KLIM and BMW gear.  However, you might want to upgrade the armor or wear an armored pressure suit to get the best armor placement.

Moto Foto Monday: Battle of the Dual Sports!

KLR650 vs DR650! 

The battle between the two workhorse dual sports rages on. 

Which side are you on?  

Moto Foto Monday!

V-Twin Edition!

Moto Foto Monday!

Moto Foto Monday

Enjoy some KLR650 supermoto conversions!

Naked 'Wings

How about a couple of stripped down, sharp looking Goldwings to start your week off?

Nuts!

If you're gonna ride trails like this, you're gonna need some nice saddlebags...

to haul your big balls around in.  

I have a sickness.

MMmmm.... M2 Cyclone.  

The Ulysses infected me with a lust for V Twin sport bikes.

I'm also suffering from a recent desire to just buy something like this as my urban commute weapon.

How much money do they give you for blood/plasma?  

Lots of changes...

The Uly is now at it's new home.  Lost some on the selling price due to the head gasket leak.

I am currently bike-less for the time being.  Not sure when I'll be back on two.  It all comes down to funds and time.  I'm making progress on the remodel project, thanks to the funds from the Uly.  A few solid weekends and it should be squared away.

What I want out of my next bike and what I'm going to get don't seem to be meshing up.  I want a simple dual sport that is capable of hauling the Mrs and I around (when we have the free time together), working as a commuter and even some light trips.  Also, it should be easy to work on, get good mpg, be light weight but also have plenty of space for us and gear.

This bike does not exist.  The closest I have come to is the DR650, KLR650 and even a ratty old XT600. While I do like the KLR, the DR is air/oil cooled and had lash/nut adjusters on the valves, making the service a cakewalk.  The ratty old XT is awesome, in a zombie apocalypse, survival sort of way but the parts can be tough to get.

I know we're going to be crazy busy once the little one gets here so I highly doubt there will be a bike of my own in the garage before spring but crazier things have happened.   

Crap.

This isn't what you want to find while trying to sell your bike.

Looks like it's time for an engine rotation and new gaskets from the base gaskets up to the rocker box covers.  It sucks this happened but I'd rather have it happen to me than the new owner.  

I don't get it.

The Ulysses is still on Craigslist in multiple cities but I'm not getting any hits.  Not even spammers or scammers.  What's the deal?  Is it the mileage?  The brand?

I believe I have it listed at a fair price, taking the mileage in consideration.  Am I wrong?

Is there no Buell love in Indiana?

Safe travels Ulysses.

**UPDATE**
It looks like deal might fall through.  Until I get cash in hand from somebody, I'm still putting my butt on the Buell every morning.
************

Today, with mixed emotion, I sold the Ulysses.  The buyer is a local MSF/ABATE Instructor and buying it for his son.  What a cool Dad!

The funds from the sale will go to finish a major home remodel in preparation for our coming first born!

Once the project is complete, I'll be bike shopping again. After owning something with so much torque and soul, I look at bikes differently now.  I have no desire for a sewing machine bike, I want grunt and character. Looking at something smaller, like a supermoto or small dual sport.  I've even been eyeing BMW airheads, mainly the R65.  I want something like the Uly but smaller and lighter.  I think my demands will be hard to meet.

Any suggestions?

bloggers block.

 

Things have been kinda slow around S3 lately.  Life has been throwing us a lot of curve balls;  oil leaks, home projects, work and family obligations have choked down our blog output and our riding input.  Some bike changes will be coming along as well.

Helmet therapy is great but sometimes when it's just to and from work on boring city roads, dodging morons, it doesn't always seem worth putting the gear on and sweating to death in the humidity.

I have a Belstaff jacket review waiting in the ether and McMark has some great pictures from our visit to City Moto. For some reason, I just can't seem to find or make the time to finish them and I feel a bit bad about it.  City Moto is a kick ass gear shop that carries some seriously cool stuff and they're brand new so any bit of advertising helps them out.

I guess I'm living up to the blog's name...

random wrenching.

Working on the Chief. 

Tourmaster - Textile Overpants (M) Black

Tourmaster Textile Overpants

 I purchased a pair of Tourmaster Overpants on eBay from a dealer out of IL. The MSRP for the pants is $139.99 and they had them on sale for $45.00 with free shipping. I was looking for something lightweight as an over-pant but these were such a good deal I went with them. The knee armor was nice but the hip armor was just closed cell foam so I replaced it with some nice Dianese hip pads I had around.

Specifications:
• Constructed with a 600 Denier Carbolex® Plus shell and 1680 Denier Ballistic polyester knee panels
• Overpant designed to be worn over street clothes
• Rainguard® waterproof/breathable barrier
• Phoslite® reflective piping for increased nighttime visibility
• Waterproof zippered thigh vents provide ventilation
• Double-stitched construction throughout
• Dual-elastic panel waistband with adjustable waist belts
• Waterproof, accordion-style expansion panels at the rear waist and above knees for increased flexibility
• Two zippered hand pockets
• Removable CE-approved knee armor with Tour Master's Three Position Knee Armor Alignment system as well as removable soft (closed-cell foam) hip armor.
• Full length, waterproof side entry leg zippers and zippered side entry allow for ease of dressing
• Features 8" pant/jacket zipper attachment with the jacket sides included

The hip pad on the left is the original ones provided by Tourmaster. The hip pad in the middle are Dianese soft thermoformed hip inserts. The knee armor on the right is the knee protection provided with the pants.

 My Comments:
The Overpants are well constructed with expansion panels at the knee and at the waist which makes them fit in riding position. I bought the medium to fit my 32" inseam and 32" waist. Tourmaster recommends the medium for 32"-34" waist and 31.5" inseam. Tourmasters sizing chart is very accurate for an overpant. The Phoslite® reflective piping is in fact very reflective and runs the whole lengt of the leg. The only improvement that could be made is to the zippered thigh vents that could be larger to allow more airflow. An upgrade option of the hip pads would be nice also. Otherwise the Overpants are NICE.

Brake Light Strobe Module: LSC-100A from SuperBrightLEDs.com

The Ulysses has a nice and bright LED tail/brake light.  However, that doesn't seem to stop people from ignoring the blast of red light into their smartphone numbed eyes.  After a recent close call with a lady in a BMW land yacht on my way to work, I decided that I needed to make my brake light more noticeable.

After some quick web browsing, I found a few different solutions ranging in price from $4.95 to $39.99.  Being on the cheap, I mean frugal, I went with the $4.95 option from SuperBrightLEDs.  The LSC-100A flashes 4 times within 0.4 seconds, followed by 4 more flashes within 2.6 seconds followed by constant light until the brake pedal/lever is released.

There are other modules that flash different patterns but this seemed to be best for what I was looking for.  The module itself is small, about the size of 2 x AA batteries.  

Following the factory lighting wiring diagram, I tracked down the R/Y wire (the Orange wire feeds the tail light).  When I split the harness, I found the two R/Y wires (wait two? yes, two), cut them and soldered the module in place.  The red wire on the side with the ground is connected to the power feed, the single red wire goes to the brake light.  I crimped a ring connector to the ground and connected it to the negative battery terminal.  With the R/Y wires soldered together, it was time to test before wrapping it up.  With a successful test, I covered the wires in heat shrink tubing and then wrapped the harness in adhesive free wrap.  

Total installation time, about 20 minutes.  

(Stock pictures of the LSC-100A are property of SuperBrightLEDs.com)

Technical difficulties...

We are experiencing technical difficulties with the Blogger interface.  The side bar, graphics and all manner of  widgets have been deported to the bottom of the blog.  I have a support request into Google.  

Maybe it's time to move to a real domain? 

Indianapolis Motor Speedway might "opt out" of 2014 MotoGP!?!

According to this article on Asphalt and Rubber, the IMS might "opt out" of the 2014 MotoGP race.

For some reason, I never went until last year.  I had a complete blast and feel like a turd for not attending the previous races.  Let's make sure we show the IMS how much we love having the GP here in Indy!  Don't be a turd like I was, attend the race this year.  

Aerostich AD1 Pants Review

Last December, I picked up a pair of Aerostich AD1 Pants from eBay.  I wanted a pair of over-pants that were actually waterproof, not pants with a waterproof under layer like the AGV Telluride Pants.  The AGV pants are great but when it rains, your butt still feels wet even though it's dry.

 The AD1 are made with HT600 Denier Nylon with three layers of GORE-TEX fabric.  Just like good quality backpacking gear, the seams are pre-taped to hold out the elements.  The pants I purchased were used on one short trip and they didn't even feel broken in yet.  They don't include a hanger because you just stand them up on their own.  

Full length two-way zippers on each leg makes putting on and taking off the pants super easy.  No more fighting over the tops or soles of your boots.  The zippers feature a good set of storm flaps to keep the wind and rain out.  At the ankle, the pants snap together and have a large reflective Velcro patch used to tighten the pants around your boots.  This helps hold in body heat, especially on the few 19 degree days we were out this January.  On the contrary, forget to tighten those adjusters and you'll feel the breeze blowing in.  This is very beneficial on hot days.

(clearly, I have no butt)

Inside the legs, the armor attaches to a wide patch of Velcro, with plenty of room to adjust the positioning up, down or even side to side a bit.  There are also patches of Velcro in the hips for the optional hip armor. The armor it self is the TF3 Hard Shell and as long as the temps aren't dipping into the frosty range, it conforms to your knees and is very comfortable.

The pants are covered in pockets.  Two normal jean style front pockets with velcro closure flaps, one butt pocket on the left, a waterproof zip pocket on the right thigh and a fold over waterproof pocket on the left leg with velcro above and below to add the Aerostich map pocket.  I've ridden through a few rainstorms and the thigh pockets have always been dry.

The fit is slim but loose enough to go over regular pants.  The waist features an elastic section on the rear and a set of snaps at the hips to help customize the fit.  The waist does ride a bit low but wearing a 3/4 length jacket easily solves that "issue".  The crotch features a gusset flap to help keep rain from sneaking in and giving you wet crotch.  Just like the pockets, it's kept me dry.  Wrapped around the waist is a nylon belt with a plastic buckle.  This is no normal belt, slide it out and you'll see a zipper running down the middle to stash your cash.

Overall, I think the AD1 pants are worth every penny, even at full price.  The fit is amazing, the construction is damn near bulletproof and the included features are great.  They perform great in cold, cool and warm weather.  However, once the temps hit the mid 80's, they're a bit toasty.  However, with the leg cuffs left open, you do get some airflow up the legs.  I plan to take the pants to a seamstress/tailor to have a second zipper head to the top of the zipper.  That way, I can zip them down with the top and middle heads, then zip up the top head to create a vent.

(Click here for a review of the Belstaff Adventure Jacket from British Motorcycle Gear.)

One step closer to a more motorcycle friendly Indianapolis!

On May 10th, I submitted an official proclamation request to the Indianapolis Mayor's Office to make the third Monday in June Official Ride to Work Day.  The request was approved and I received the declaration today.  I plan on contacting a few dealerships and local groups to see if they would like to organize some sort of gathering to celebrate.